Current light based analysis requires the use of expensive equipment that offers a complicated system that is difficult to maintain. Although laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers a low cost analysis system, it is plagued by its requirements for precise control of laser pulses in conjunction with precise timing of the optical spectrometer. Generally, LIBS systems use actively Q-switched lasers, due to their precision timing. In an actively Q-switched laser an input signal is used to control the laser output and to time the measurement. Passively Q-switched lasers do not have a highly precise timing signal, making them unsuitable for LIBS to those in the art. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a low cost, reliable, laser based analysis using a passively q-switched laser.